NASA gave Bell the "go ahead" to develop two VX-15 tilt rotor research aircraft in Sep. 1973. On May 3, 1977, the prototype, N702NA, made its first fight (hover) at the Bell Flight Test Centre at Arlington Municipal Airport (KGKY) after extensive ground tests. Both XV-15s prototypes spent their early years at NASA Ames (KNUQ), but after the 1981 Paris Air Show, N702NA returned to Bell in Texas for further testing. It is seen in Feb. 1990 at at Arlington with the prototype V-22 Osprey. On Aug. 22, 1992, N702NA crashed at Arlington. The cockpit of the wreck was salvaged and became a simulator.